James Franco has revealed he will help his film class to produce and release their own movie.

The Planet Of The Apes star is lecturing a class at NYU's Karbar Institute of Film and Television at the Greenwich Village-based campus, and wants to give his students the chance to succeed in Hollywood just as he has done.

James told Fox411: "It's a production class, so my students will all collaborate and work together.

"By the end of the class, [they will] make a feature film that we will distribute, so I kind of see that as a way to give deserving students an opportunity to actually make something and give them the opportunities that I was given."

The actor, writer, artist - who has graduated from UCLA, obtained a Masters in writing from Columbia University, graduated in filmmaking from NYU and is still working towards a PhD in English at Yale - wants to show his students they can do whatever they put their mind to.

The 33-year-old star said: "I'm always supportive of people that go out and make things on their own.

"I spent many years as an actor auditioning and trying to get parts in big movies and being rejected - and yes, in a sense that's maybe one thing you have to do if you want to do a certain type of movie - but you can also go out and do your own thing.

"The technology of today is more accessible, and if people can go and do that and not have to depend on other types of gate-keepers to do what they love, I think they definitely should."